The present invention relates to a refrigerator setup system and method, and more particularly to a setup system and method for a refrigerator including drawers respectively defined with compartments having different refrigerating and freezing environments, which system and method are adapted to set up the refrigerator using an application program selected depending on the local characteristics of the area where the refrigerator is used, thereby being capable of allowing the refrigerator to have optimum refrigerating and freezing environments for respective compartments thereof meeting the local characteristics of the area.
As well known, a refrigerator is a food storing appliance provided with compartments for storing food therein. In such a refrigerator, its compartments are maintained at a desired low temperature using electricity, gas, or ice while being thermally insulated from the outside thereof using an insulator, so as to store food at a low temperature while preventing the food from being spoiled.
In homes, such a refrigerator is typically placed in a kitchen or at an area nearest to the kitchen so that it can be conveniently used by the user upon taking food materials, to be cooked, out of the refrigerator or storing cooked food in the refrigerator.
Recently, in Korea, use of kimchi refrigerators has been increased. Kimchi refrigerators are adapted to appropriately season kimchi to suit the taste of Korean people, and to store the seasoned kimchi in a fresh state. Such kimchi refrigerators are configured to provide various refrigerating and freezing environments depending on the taste of the user so that they can store kimchi under refrigerating or freezing conditions meeting the conditions given by the user.
Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a kimchi refrigerator is illustrated which has a drawer type structure including drawers each defined with a compartment. Typically, such a drawer type kimchi refrigerator is configured to provide different refrigerating or freezing environments for respective compartments thereof (for example, upper, intermediate, and lower compartments), thereby allowing food to be stored under a refrigerating or freezing condition desired by the user.
However, such a drawer type kimchi refrigerator has a fixed application program installed during the manufacturing process of the refrigerator by the manufacturer prior to the selling of the refrigerator, so that the refrigerating and freezing environments of the refrigerator are fixed irrespective of the local characteristics of the area where the refrigerator is used. As a result, there is a problem in that the refrigerator may have refrigerating and freezing environments not meeting the local characteristics of the area where the refrigerator is used.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a setup system and method for a drawer type refrigerator which can provide an application program meeting the local characteristics of the area where the refrigerator is used, thereby being capable of allowing the user to set up the refrigerator to have optimum refrigerating and freezing environments meeting the local characteristics of the area.
In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a refrigerator setup system comprising: program providing means for providing an application program for setting up refrigerating and freezing environments for a refrigerator meeting local characteristics of an area where the refrigerator is used; communication connecting means provided at the refrigerator and adapted to allow the refrigerator to download the application program from the program providing means; communication control means for controlling the communication connecting means to connect the refrigerator and the program providing means to each other; and a refrigerator microcomputer for performing a control for refrigerating and freezing functions of the refrigerator in accordance with the downloaded application program.
In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a refrigerator setup method comprising the steps of: (a) constructing program providing means adapted to provide an application program meeting local characteristics of an area where a refrigerator is used; and (b) connecting the program providing means to communication connecting means provided at the refrigerator, downloading the application program from the program providing means to the refrigerator, and installing the application program in the refrigerator.